Are hybrid cars more enviromentally conscious than gas or diesel cars?
I know that the mileage is better but I’ve heard with the manufacturing of the battery it doesn’t turn out to be any better. I haven’t been able to find any concrete statistics or anything though, does anybody know of any websites, or have some information?
Thanks so much!
The battery manufacturing issues are a myth. The nickel for the batteries comes from the Inco plant in Sudbury, Canada, which had environmental problems long before the Prius even existed, and the plant now has a much smaller environmental impact.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/08/hummer-vs-prius-redux-this-time-to-hummer-i-dont-think-so/
Studies have also shown than 80-90% of a car’s lifetime energy use comes during operation (while it’s being driven), so basically the more fuel efficient a car is, the lower its environmental impact. The construction of the car is a very small factor (5-10% of lifetime energy use). So yes, hybrids are more environmentally conscious because they have a smaller environmental impact than gas or diesel cars.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_vs_prius.pdf
The battery manufacturing issues are a myth. The nickel for the batteries comes from the Inco plant in Sudbury, Canada, which had environmental problems long before the Prius even existed, and the plant now has a much smaller environmental impact.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/08/hummer-vs-prius-redux-this-time-to-hummer-i-dont-think-so/
Studies have also shown than 80-90% of a car’s lifetime energy use comes during operation (while it’s being driven), so basically the more fuel efficient a car is, the lower its environmental impact. The construction of the car is a very small factor (5-10% of lifetime energy use). So yes, hybrids are more environmentally conscious because they have a smaller environmental impact than gas or diesel cars.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_vs_prius.pdf
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Good question. With electric cars, the impact can be worse in my opinion. Not only with mining the materials but with the disposal of the massive batteries once they have outlived their lifetime. There is also the issue of what would happen in a bad accident where the the contents would be spilled all over the place not to mention on people. There is also the matter of where the electricity came from, many power plants are run on coal and nuclear which have their own impact on the environment.
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hybrid cars ARE gas or diesel cars.
If you want to go to plug-in hybrid, that’s a leap in the right direction.
Automotive batteries already recycle nearly 100%. The lead in your car’s starting battery wasn’t mined; it was recycled from other batteries. The same will happen with the elements in hybrid batteries. Also the batteries will outlive the car, so many cars will be scrapped with good batteries onboard. Eventually they might work out something where you reuse your old battery in your new car?
The only data I have seen about environmental pollution was from the anti-eco crowd, claiming some plant in Sudbury Ontario polluted half of Canada making Prius batteries. Further investigation reveals this to be a cowardly propogandist lie. You can check that out for yourself. It really boils down to where the battery is made, much manufacturing is shipped off to third world countries where environmental law is poor.
However, local and regional pollution is not the same as global pollution. They have different severity and different effects. All pollution is not equivalent. It’s a lot easier to clean up a superfund site than unmelt a glacier.
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The following are the true advantages of gas-diesel / electric hybrid systems.
An engine, whether gasoline or diesel, running at a constant RPM with a constant load is more efficient than an engine with speed, fuel mixture and idle characteristics always changing. (Idling any engine yields zero miles per gallon fuel economy).
Electrical control systems on a hybrid car or truck are a good way to manage power demand through smooth output and safety through regenerative / dynamic vehicle braking.
Lead acid batteries may be somewhat inefficient but we have the method at this time to recycle and reuse near one hundred percent of the critter. Even the rubber casing waste can be reused in a secondary process with zero environmental impact. The jury is still out on the recycling of nickel and lithium based power storage units. I’m sure the technology exists, there is just no one in the drivers seat yet.
Statistics will be almost impossible to find ‘online’ unless someone has taken the time to post it on their own personal hobby site. You may need to become creative and a master of boolean search techniques. No one is interested in the obsolete development curve unless you are a purist. Most of this information will be published in notebook form or historical reprints.
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The author drives an electric vehicle with an add-on bioester genset for longer road trips. This is a self engineered project of a true conservationist.
Many such historical and interest books are available:
http://www.lindsaybks.com
Yes, hybrid cars are more environmetally friendly than gas or diesel cars but they are not the most environmentally conscious. Electric cars are the most environmentally friendly.
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Hybrids beat standard gas cars hands-down. The Prius makes a gas-tank-to-wheels thermal efficiency of about 35%, which is actually better than you’ll get plugging an electric car into the U.S. grid. This compares to an average about 20% efficiency for gas cars and 25-30% for diesels.
You can beat hybrids, in environmental terms, by using muscle power (bike, ride a horse), by electric with dedicated solar, hydro, or wind power, or by running waste vegetable oil in your diesel automobile. I’m still waiting for diesel-electric hybrids, these are likely to beat gas-electric hybrids by miles.
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Cars are not conscious, even with the most advanced OBC.
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In the end hybrids are a joke. They still have all the problems of a normal car but they do go easier on gas and have less emissions. But the higher price for the car the maintenance they still need although its less, and the cost of eventually changing the batteries costs MORE to the consumer even with the better gas mileage. Toyota has admitted they are loosing their shirts with the Prius in the maintenance and billable labor. So the only winner is the environment but not by much. Simpletons but Hybrids.
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NOT NECESSARILY.. Is a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid more environmentally conscious than a Honda Civic???
The most environmentally conscious car you can drive is the one that gets the best mileage for your use — regardless of the type of drive train or motor that it uses.
Remember, hybrid drive trains incorporate gas or diesel engines plus an electric motor that can also act as a generator to capture the energy in the momentum that is dissipated as you slow down (instead of braking a hybrid drive train uses the electric motor in reverse to generate electricity to recharge the batteries that then can power the vehicle later). So it makes the vehicle more efficient in terms of mileage.
So while the mileage on a hybrid vehicle may be better if that vehicle of equivalent size that does not have a hybrid drive train. However, the fact that it is a hybrid does not make it more environmentally conscious!!!
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